List of Rowing Terms

[JackLG]

For those new/ignorant members of the club, here is a list of some rowing terms:

Bow (seat): The rower nearest to the bow of the boat. For us it feels like the back of the boat (as we face backwards) but it's really the front.
Stroke (seat): The rower nearest the stern of the boat.
Stern: The back of the boat (which is in front of us as we face backwards).
Bowside: (also known as starboard) - The rowers with a blade out to their left (right side of the boat though... don't forget we face backwards). Blades are marked green.
Strokeside: (aka port) The other side. Blades are marked red.
Coxswain: (shortened to cox). The one who steers and gives commands.

Sweep: The type of rowing where we each have one blade. If you say 'rowing' you usually mean sweep. Otherwise you say sculling...
Sculling: Rowing when each rower (sculler) has 2 blades each.

Bowloader: A boat where the cox sits in the bow.
Sternloader: Cox sits in the stern and can see the crew in front of them. All 8+s are sternloaded.

Parts of the boat:
Backstop: The thing that stops your seat coming off the back of the slide. When you sit at backstops, that's when your seat is as far back as it goes when you straighten your legs.
Frontstop: The thing that stops your seat sliding off the front of the runners. When you sit at front stops, you slide forwards to where you would be as you place your blade in the water.
Blade: That thing you row with. You know, the oar.
Spoon: That part of the blade that goes in the water.
Bowball: Small soft ball attached to the boat's bow.
Bow-rigged: The stroke-seat has their blade on bowside.. and so on. As opposed to the more typical rigging which is the other way around.
Cleaver: Type of blade where the spoon is shaped like a cleaver/hatchet.
Rowlock/Oarlock: The bit your oar actually goes through. That fixes the oat to the boat.
Gate: Bar across the top of the rowlock.
Pin: The vertical rod on which the rowlock rotates.
Macon: U-shaped blade, often used for novices as it's easier to extract from the water and puts less strain on the upper body (in case technique isn't right).
Coxbox: Voice amplifier that the cox uses to be heard in the boat.
Footplate: The thing which your feet are attached to. Usually by putting them in fixed shoes that are already in the boat
Hull: The actual body of the shell.
Shell: The boat.
Rigger: Those metal things sticking out the sides of the boats that we use for the blades.
Roller: The wheels on the seat.
Saxboard: The top edge of the sides of the boat.
Slide(s): The runners / track on which the seat rolls.

If there's anything I've missed out here that may be of importance please mention it.